Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxvillian comes home to open shop

Since leaving Knoxville nearly a decade ago, Laura Braden has been busy building up a who’s-who resume.

Braden served as deputy communications director for former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. She worked on the 2008 Republican presidential campaign of Arizona Sen. John McCain. And she spent three months in the Gulf Coast assisting BP with their oil spill response efforts.

Not bad for someone who had a difficult time deciding what career path to pursue.

Now, the 30-year-old has returned to her native Knoxville with a wealth of experience and a new PR and consulting business, Braden Strategies, an affiliate of SRW & Associates.

“For the last year, every time I came home it was becoming harder and harder to leave,” Braden said. Many of her best girlfriends had started moving home, and she thought, “Let’s give Knoxville another try. It’s completely different.”

Braden has picked up clients in California and Washington, D.C. In Knoxville, she serves as communications director for mayoral candidate Mark Padgett.